


Be Sincere, Be Brief, Be Seated

by clandestine_xo, luminfics



Series: Round 2018 [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: College, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-27 00:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15012365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clandestine_xo/pseuds/clandestine_xo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/luminfics/pseuds/luminfics
Summary: Lu Han believes that brevity is the soul of wit, except Minseok always has too many words to say.





	Be Sincere, Be Brief, Be Seated

**Author's Note:**

> Username: anonymous until reveals
> 
> Prompt Number: 55
> 
> Title: Be Sincere, Be Brief, Be Seated
> 
> Rating: PG
> 
> Word Count: 2,742
> 
> Warnings: Mild language and mentions of drinking. Some Comic Sans crack.
> 
> I decided to keep it short and simple, with some likely failed attempts at humor. OTL I do hope everything works out for the best though.

Lu Han’s lips twitch as he sees the shadow move from left to right, pressing his mouth into a thin line to smother the smile that threatens to turn up. His friend’s pacing will always be funny to him. For all his intelligence and charisma, Minseok turning into a tightly-wound bundle of nerves is still a regular occurrence. If it wasn’t wearing a path on the carpet, he’ll be standing right behind Lu Han, breathing down his neck.

When Lu Han finally pushes the laptop away from him, Minseok looks frozen in his spot, waiting for the other’s comments, which were nothing but good things. As a linguistics major, Minseok deemed Lu Han the perfect choice to proofread his papers and presentations. Being the great friend that he is, Lu Han actually does the brunt work.

It wasn’t necessarily a tough job. With Minseok being one of the smartest kids on campus and well on his way to getting the highest Latin honors when he graduates, Lu Han only needs to correct a few syntax errors and the rare typographical mistakes. The presentations are where things get muddy.

Lu Han believes that a slide presentation only needs the bare minimum. Take all key points, organize them into bullets, and power through the finer details in the speech. The first presentation he had to look over basically had Minseok’s entire paper on it. The second involved a cluttered deck with various points littered across. The worst part was Minseok had the audacity to use Comic Sans as a font. Lu Han had to actually sit him down for a lecture on why he should never use that again. Suffice to say, the presentations thereafter began to look better with his help.

The oral factor is where Minseok runs into bigger trouble. Despite his tendency to go quiet during gatherings, the smaller boy has plenty to say. The problem lies in how much he wants to say. The first time he had Minseok do a run-through of a presentation, his best friend ended up sounding as if he was rapping, sentences slurring one into the other. Lu Han also notes that it was basically a reading of his paper. He taught Minseok how to trim it down, making note cards following the pattern of his slides, only for the other to go back and forth in his speech when he forgets certain points. Saying it was a mess was an understatement.

Everything was fantastic on paper. Minseok just needs to keep his mouth shut. Lu Han doesn’t dare say it out loud, though.

Minseok had always been on the quiet side, at least compared to their group of friends. He was one to just listen in on the many conversations around him when they’re all together, muttering quips under his breath rather than speak up. He was funny and quick-witted, sharing impish qualities with the likes of Baekhyun and Jongdae. Lu Han used to fear that they’ll corrupt Minseok and end up with three noisy friends. No one makes a breakthrough, though, with the eldest among them retreating into himself whenever they were gathered.

_There’s nothing wrong with me. I like our friends just fine. I just don’t see the need to be all hyper when everyone else can do it for me. Besides, I don’t really like being the center of attention._

What Minseok doesn’t realize is how he piques anyone’s interest even when standing still. Everyone on campus knows his reputation for one thing or the other. Whether it was making it on the dean’s list for all semesters of his stay, or scoring the winning goal for their soccer championship with a heart-shaped sprout ponytail on his head, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know who Minseok was.

It doesn’t help that he wasn’t bad to look at. He may not be as tall as Yifan or Chanyeol, or as sinewy as Jongin or Sehun, but eyes tend to gravitate to Minseok just as much. With his small frame, elfin features, and lopsided smile, he was a stunner in his own right.

There’s also the matter of his personality. Lu Han recalls how Yixing coddles Minseok despite the latter being older, saying only positive words for his tiny _gege_. Tao, for some reason, still calls Minseok _oppa_ and gets away with it, regardless how long he’s known it’s not the correct term to use. There was also how Kyungsoo will choose to spend time with Minseok, preferring the older boy’s quiet company, much to the chagrin of his boyfriend. Said boyfriend couldn’t really speak bad about it, not when Junmyeon himself shares Minseok’s humor, commiserating with each other when no one else gets their jokes.

Lu Han often thinks he’s everything all his literature and creative writing professors warn him against, describing Minseok as some Mary Sue who brings all the boys to the yard, whatever Junmyeon means by that. He digresses. Minseok is not without a flaw. His public speaking skills are definitely on top of that list.

“The paper’s fine. I think your slides need an infographic or a simple diagram, whichever you think will work.”

“Great,” Minseok says in a deadpan. “Now all that’s left is my thesis defense.”

Lu Han shouldn’t laugh, but the look of despair on his best friend’s face was too comical to smother his chuckles.

“Do it for me!”

Minseok does that cute thing he says he hates, voice going up in a whine, tucking himself against Lu Han and hugging his arm like a bolster. And when he burrows his head against the taller boy’s shoulder, Lu Han knows he’s well and truly fucked.

 

* * *

 

Minseok considers it a success if he manages to go through a presentation with less than 10 stutters and no more than 5 backtracks. And when even his thesis adviser commends him on it after the panel clears out, he can’t help but beam in triumph. His defense went better than expected, leaving him a grinning fool and turning heads for his extra bright disposition.

He pulls his phone out, fingers poised to type out a message to share the good news to his friends, only for a notification to pop up before he can even open his messenger app.

_Yifan said you passed by our classroom. He says to tell you that the sun wants its job back. I take it you have good news._

Minseok snorts at the text before looking around. It was hell week after all. His happiness was a little out of place in the middle of a crowded hallway filled with caffeine-fueled zombies.

_I was just about to send a group message. And yeah, it went great!_

Minseok receives a series of emojis from Lu Han. Not long after, their group chat lights up with a congratulatory message from Yifan. The others take their cues from there, making his phone vibrate endlessly with cheers of a job well done and teases about a dinner treat in celebration.

Minseok gives in. It was his plan anyway, but he couldn’t help but tease back when a few of them start alluding to thanking Lu Han in a different way.

_I’ll treat everyone to dinner after finals… if you all do well. I’m looking at you, Baekhyun._

He snickers at the slew of messages that follow after that, pocketing his phone and leaving his friends to bicker and whine about test scores and evil professors. He’s counting on the fact that his best friend is often too lazy to backtrack their entire chat, leaving their friends to bury any incriminating messages. Minseok can only hope that no one dwells on the crass jokes, especially not Lu Han.

 

*****

 

The treat to dinner ends up becoming a full night out. With three seniors graduating and two juniors receiving news of internships, the eldest in the group figured there was no better way to celebrate. The younger ones were more than happy to accept their generosity, ordering bottle after bottle of beer and soju to keep their party going. Minseok shakes his head at their antics, knowing full well that a good handful of them are lightweights.

It wasn’t long until they start branching off. Yifan has a protective arm around a giggling Yixing as they make their way out of the bar. Chanyeol follows with a sleeping Baekhyun on his back, Jongdae clutching onto the tall boy’s shirt as he clumsily trails after them. Junmyeon and Kyungsoo have resolved themselves to making sure Jongin, Sehun, and Tao get home safely.

“Let’s go.”

Minseok blinks blearily at the hand stuck out in front of his nose. He slowly trails his gaze up a defined arm, over a strong shoulder, past slender neck, and finally stopping at Lu Han’s flushed face. “Where we goin’?”

His friend drags a palm across his forehead, likely trying to figure out how to deal with him in his inebriated state. Minseok isn’t quite drunk yet, choosing to see how far Lu Han will go before realizing he’s being played. But unlike the rest of his friends who run for the hills when he’s beyond buzzed, his best friend takes things like a champ. Lu Han gently hauls Minseok up onto his feet, shuffles him out of the bar, and pushes him into a cab, so they can finally make it back to their dorm.

The cab ride home is quiet. Despite settling in the middle of the back seat, they turn away from each other, both looking right outside the windows. Minseok struggles to make out Lu Han’s reflection off the glass, wondering to himself if he can fake falling over to lay his head against the other’s shoulder. Would Lu Han think it was weird or would he coddle Minseok to keep him still for the rest of the ride?

He doesn’t get to find out the answer, the ride home coming to a quick stop when they reach their building. Lu Han pays for the fare and wishes the driver a good night before opening the door. Minseok feels a warmth on his hand, his brain short-circuiting when he feels slender fingers intertwine with his. He looks down the length of his arm, stops at their joined hands, up Lu Han’s extended reach, finally stopping at the back of his head. He hopes his hands aren’t clammy. Heaven help him if Lu Han ends up finding it disgusting and dropping his hold there and then.

He doesn’t. At least, not until they’re already in their room with Lu Han sitting Minseok down on his bed and striding towards their mini fridge, coming back a mere blink of an eye later with two bottles of water in his hands. Both of them down half of their drinks in silence, only broken when Lu Han heaves a deep sigh.

“Can you believe it?” he asks, flashing a wistful smile towards him.

Minseok tilts his head in confusion, eliciting soft chuckles from his best friend.

“We’re graduating soon,” Lu Han continues. “We’re about to end this chapter of our lives and start a fresh page to fill with new adventures.”

“New adventures,” Minseok mutters under his breath. His nose scrunches at the bitterness those two words leave on his tongue. Graduating college means applying for jobs that may lead them to different paths. What if their careers end up requiring one or both of them to move far away? What if they meet new people and make them forget about the friends they have back home? What if Lu Han finds someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with while Minseok watches on with the horde of cats he adopts to keep him company?

The soft press of fingertips against his forehead pulls him out of his reverie, eyes crossing as he focuses on Lu Han’s palm as his best friend traces the furrow between his brows. “What on earth has you looking so serious, Minseok?”

The question somehow ignites a fire under him, his hand suddenly coming up to slap Lu Han’s away. His best friend looks dumbstruck because of it, stuttering to ask if he did something wrong.

Minseok fumbles around for his phone, pulling it out of his pants pocket with enough force to almost send it hurtling across the room. “I’ll text you something!”

“What?”

“There's something I want to tell you but I know I would mess up if I tried to say it out loud, so I wrote it.”

Minseok pretends to not see the amused tilt on Lu Han’s lips, choosing to focus on going through his drafts instead. The message he’s looking for was one he started writing a while ago, a few lines added or removed every so often since. It contains everything he wants to say but no courage to do so, not because he’s scared of what Lu Han may think, but because Minseok may not be articulate enough to execute it.

Everyone says he’s better in the written word. His professors dock points in his presentations despite a flawless paper. Baekhyun and Jongdae were easier to tutor when he jots the explanation of various concepts and theories down. He’s even able to pull laughs when he texts a joke to their group chat, even if he told the same one out loud just hours prior. Minseok figures that the only way to get things off his chest was to write it down.

His thumb hovers over the send button for a few seconds. With a deep breath and closed eyes, he presses down and hopes for the best.

_I like you._

Much like Shakespeare, Lu Han believes that brevity is the soul of wit. Nietzsche also comes into play about how something said briefly is the fruit of something long thought out. It’s what Luhan keeps telling him whenever he helps with his speeches, and Minseok figures it's something he needs to adhere to for this particular moment.

The room is so quiet that Minseok can hear the precise moment their breathing goes in sync. The silence goes on for several beats, and he’s unsure why Lu Han hasn’t said anything yet. He forces one eye open, then another, slowly turning his head to gauge the other’s reaction. Minseok does a little jump in his seat when he finds Lu Han staring at him with a blank expression on his face.

“You’re an idiot.”

Minseok takes that as the cue to open the floodgates, thinking back to Jose Saramago and the idea that concision is not a definitive virtue. Yes, Minseok tends to lose out when he talks too much, but how much can Lu Han gain by saying more than what was strictly necessary?

So Minseok rambles on about when they first met and thinking how beautiful Lu Han looked with his then blonde hair. “I thought you were an angel with the sun shining behind you,” he explains. Minseok goes on to talk about how grateful he is to have met Lu Han, saying how he probably would have not become friends with the others if not for his best friend’s social skills. Then comes a long list of everything that’s made him fall for Lu Han over the years – their love for soccer, their need for coffee, their interest in similar things, his incredible patience, his quiet company.

“Hey,” Lu Han says quietly.

Minseok splutters to a stop, eyes wide as he asks what Lu Han wants to say.

“Shut up.”

Minseok clamps his jaw shut, gaze downcast as his mind runs a mile a minute, thinking that everything Lu Han has ever done for him leads to nothing more than friendship. But then there’s the ghost of a touch under his chin, gently forcing him to hold his head up. He refuses to meet the other’s eyes for fear of seeing pity on Lu Han’s face, only to have shock run down his spine when a pair of lips press against his own.

Lu Han pulls away moments later, with Minseok chasing after. He topples over in his daze, landing against a solid chest that rumbles in laughter. He feels a kiss to the top of his head, prompting Minseok to smother his grin against the other’s shirt. It smells of cigarette smoke and spilled soju, of faint cologne and earthy musk, of Lu Han. And he’s run out of words for how amazing he feels.


End file.
